BelugaXL

created: 2020.04.20. 15:00 · modified: 2021.12.18. 18:08 ·  · license

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There were a lot of planes in Toulouse. Whenever the sun was up, I could look up and see two or three contrails streaking across the sky. I figured it was a combination of the city’s location roughly halfway between Paris and Madrid and its role as a hub for the aviation industry. The latter was also the deciding factor in my choice to come here on assignment.

Of all the planes overhead, one in particular caught my eye: the Beluga (Airbus Beluga XL). With its oversized head, shaped like the whale it was named after, the plane was developed to transport other aircraft’s fuselages and wings. Over time, I realized that seeing a Beluga fly over Toulouse was fairly common. Even so, the strange sight of a whale seemingly swimming through the sky—and the thought that I might never see one anywhere else—made me stop in my tracks whenever one appeared and watch until it disappeared from view.

Exchange Student in France, Ep. 1

Original: Posted on Instagram on April 21, 2020